The tremendous support provided by his colleagues at Northern
Rail gave Martin Smith the perfect platform to complete the Plusnet
Yorkshire Marathon and raise £1,400 for the Jane Tomlinson
Appeal,

Although an experienced marathon runner, this was Martin's first
attempt at taking on the 26.2 mile distance for charity. He said
signing up to the Appeal Team made him feel "apprehensive, excited
and nervous," yet "proud and privileged at running for such a
wonderful cause."

To help boost his fundraising, Martin enlisted the support of
his colleagues at Northern Rail to encourage support for the Appeal
within Leeds City railway station. Over 60 staff were involved in
the fundraising which took place across the station during the
entire week before the event. Every member of staff wore a Jane
Tomlinson T-shirt, raising a wonderful amount of awareness for the
Appeal.

"Our ticket office was covered in balloons, a huge banner and
collection tins on each window" said Martin. "All week everybody
continued to wear their T-shirts!"

The Northern Rail team were even accompanied by our renowned
mascot, Tommo, who brought his own fundraising bucket along. Martin
was incredibly thankful for the support of his team.

He said: "It was a huge team effort and I cannot thank everybody
enough for their contribution."

Having the backing of his colleagues at Northern Rail buoyed
Martin for marathon day and he went on to achieve an amazing
personal best of 3:53:54.

He said: "I left for home with an immense satisfaction that I
had finished, achieved a PB and raised money for the Jane Tomlinson
Appeal."

Thanks to the hard work and continued support of Martin and his
colleagues at Northern Rail, together they have raised an
incredible £1,400 for the Appeal. This is a truly fantastic
fundraising effort from a closely knit team.

"A huge thank you to all my colleagues for supporting me
all week" said Martin. "I couldn't have done it without them."

We are incredibly grateful to Martin and his colleagues at
Northern Rail for their amazing support for the Jane Tomlinson
Appeal. You can read more about Martin's journey, keep up to date
with future event participation and receive some inspiration of
your own to take on a challenge for the Appeal. Just follow this
link to his Just Giving page:
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Martin-Smith82